Why a blog for the online MS in Environmental Education ?
Twenty years ago, Sir Peter Scott, founder/chair of the World Wildlife Fund, said "The conservationist's most important task, if we are to save the earth, is to educate". Accordingly, I am both privileged and humbled to be able to work coordinating an online degree program which is focused on environmental education.
As we become, for the first time in human history, an urban species, the more fortunate among us have the potential to choose whether to communicate through online technologies. Online educational programs can extend our ability to connect, communicate and understand one another. At the same time, we often remain physically "distant", connected only through our ability to access a computer screen of some kind. As students of environmental education, I believe that we need to be able to connect with one another both formally (e.g. in an academic sense) and informally (e.g. to support one another in our common concerns, and be able to share experiences and knowledge).
Each individual who studies with this program is critically important in terms of what they may accomplish as a future "environmental ambassador". We now have a website where past, present and potential students in the MS in EE program can learn more about environmental education, and link to related organizations, journals, conferences, news sites, and individual profiles.
Fine in itself, but I wanted to create a space where students and alumni could interact, (whether or not they still had their university email addresses!) My hope is that this blog will be a site where each of you feels "at home" to share ideas, frustrations, news, stories, enthusiasm about related books or articles or videos or conferences, and to look for support, job postings, places to stay ... whatever might be of help in your continued goal towards education for a sustainable environment. In a sense, this blog will also become a record of part of your collective journey as environmental educators.
So ... over to you! But first, a question - would you like this site to also be open to faculty instructing in the MS in EE program, or would you rather keep it "student/alumni only"? I'm looking for some consensus on this.
posted by JaneD @ 1:50 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I'm thrilled to see that Jane has gotten this site up and running as it was promised towards the end of our program for Cluster 12. During my program I came to love the discussions in each of the classes as a platform to be exposed to ideas and information through the eyes of my classmates. That diversity was really good as we were certainly scattered across the globe from Alaska, Japan and Florida.
What I learned through an on line course is that we are truly a part of a 'global village' with the advent of the Internet into our daily life and certainly as a most powerful tool that we learned to weld during our graduate program. A number of times, we learned about an environmentalist in our readings and I'd goggle them, find a means to write them or call them and did so. Amazingly enough, I had a 100% response from those people. Each one was glad to talk to me and impart something that helped reshape or formulat a new skill or alter my outlook in addition to that same process that the EE program was also doing. It amazed me at the generousity of people and their eagerness to share.
Since completing the program, I've decided to become a free lance environmental educator. It is satisfying and frustrating. I was not a formal educator entering Nova's program and I don't consider myself one still today. I've developed a deep seated interest in those issues that the Society and Environment course raised. Because of that, I'm trying to find work that addresses in some capacity the complex facets of all that society has imposed upon the planet and our need towards change by humankind to be more in consort with our environment. I feel both exhilerated in being on the cutting edge of a new frontier of environmental education, knowing how important it really is but also weighted as it is like rolling a huge boulder up a very steep hill. What I miss from being in the program is the insight and encouragement I got from my clustermates. Having this blog I hope will be a viable means to have contact and connections I don't presently have and need.
So that brings me to answering Jane's question on who should be included in this site and blog...I think we need to begin to learn to be less exclusive and more inclusive. Students in this program are not just a meer student. They are vibrant, exciting adults that bring experience and wisdom just as those of us that completed the program. We need to include everyone that has a sincere desire to alter the perspective of society upon the lay of the land that we call home and rely upon to provide us everything we need and use.
Personally, I need your wisdom, experience, perspective, education, hopes, dreams and anything else you can throw out there. You just might send me upon a course that I'd not known existed if I hadn't taken the time and had the interests to share or had the exposure to you had you not shared your heart and passions on this site.
I can't wait to get to 'know' you better as others start to also chat outloud in our new 'discussions hotline' post or present users to the MS in Education with an EE emphasis through Nova SE U.
This is not an exclusive club...I hope we all can not only be the ambassadors for the program but to spread the news the program does exists and be recruiters to ensure that it not only becomes more stable in the offerings at Nova but florishes and grows as our society really is deperate to grow an army of officers willing to lead and shape a new age of people that look at society as a part of the overall community that the environment so generously provides us rather than contining to look at it as resources to exploit.
Thank you, Jane for being our champion as we all know how busy you are for taking the time and still having a heart for us.
Hello all!
There's something quite familiar about the feeling of writing this to y'all. . .
Barbara has pretty much summed up anything I would have said, as usual:) So, I agree.
I think that anyone should be allowed to participate; the more the merrier!
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